It is tempting to give in to Halloween fun and take a break from focusing on your Invisalign treatment, but even one day of unwise decision-making could tank your progress and leave you spooked rather than sated. Find out how to take care of your teeth while still enjoying this festive day.
1. The Temptation of Candy
Everyone who wears Invisalign knows the hard and fast rule of not eating with the trays in place. However, a lollipop or gumball can be very tempting on Halloween. Keeping hard candy in your mouth along with Invisalign might seem like the “safe” way to enjoy a sweet, but it’s a route to damaged trays. The color will stick to the plastic, the sugar will too, and you’ll be left with sticky, bacteria-laden aligners that are sitting far too close to your teeth for comfort and could lead to tooth decay.
To complicate matters further, if you bite down on that lollipop, it could hit Invisalign just the wrong way and crack your current trays. Add to the mix chewy candy or bubble gum, which you may permit yourself to indulge in after being so well-behaved, and you could end up with messy, hard-to-clean aligners that will really get in the way of good Halloween fun.
2. Exposure to Constant Treats
It’s essential to follow the daily rules of Invisalign treatment, no matter what day of the year it is – especially when it comes to removing trays for all meals and snacks. On Halloween and on all days surrounding this much-hyped holiday, there will be sweets galore. Whether it’s candy corn on your kitchen counter, licorice in your kid’s lunchbox, or cupcakes displayed in the breakroom at work, remember that you can only eat when Invisalign has been removed from your mouth.
Don’t sneak a mini sweet because it’s small. Anything eaten with trays in place could lead to damage and a day-after visit to your cosmetic dentist for aligner maintenance.
3. The Danger of Tricky Costumes
Do you really want to be a vampire this year? Maybe, just maybe, you can find a costume that’s a little less reliant on something being stuck to your teeth. However you dress, don’t wear fake teeth over your Invisalign aligners. They could get scratched or damaged easily, even by seemingly innocent plastic pointy teeth.
Definitely do not glue or temporarily adhere longer canine teeth to your aligners for a signature vampire look. Stay with innocent, smiling, or masked costumes this year – your Invisalign treatment will thank you. And, if you’ve been wearing the trays for a while, your smile must already look straighter and better. Show that off with a smiling costume, like a dentist.
Visit Your Rye, NY, Invisalign Provider for Post-Halloween Dental Care
If you’ve developed a problem with your Invisalign treatment because of Halloween indulgences, reach out to your Rye, NY, Invisalign provider right away for assistance. You might be able to move on to the next aligner, or you may have to go back a step while you wait for a replacement tray. Only your dentist can tell you for sure.
To avoid any problems at all, stick to the rules of Invisalign treatment on Halloween and every holiday. But call Chester Hill Dentistry when you need us.